This is a tragic folk song about a poor young girl traveling home to see her dying mother one last time. She finds her self on the train home and this is where you see human compassion. The train conducter takes pity on her and allows her to use the trein without a ticket after he hears her story. And because he has no kids of his own he asks her for her love as a child, because he doesn't want to die alone without anybody mourning for him. This song is about love compassion and the human nature to feel loved. This carries a special connection for me, because everytime my grandmother hears the song she would cry. See, her father was a station master for the south african railways long ago in the 40's and 50's. She grew up in a poor home and The train part of everyone lives in that era, and with her it was no different, since she has her own sad story connected to the railways. So everytime I hear this song it reminds me of my grandmother and her sadness. And all I can do is call her, and tell her I love her and miss her. I now live in a different country but because of close relations to my family in general, I do miss them and her in particular a lot and often.